The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 47% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on James M. Quinn School
James M. Quinn School is an elementary school in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Dartmouth district. It is one of two elementary schools in a town that sits on the South Coast of Massachusetts, a large, multi-centered community that stretches from highway retail corridors in the north down to the shores of Buzzards Bay, with villages, working farms, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus, and extensive protected land all within its borders.
With an enrollment that places it among the larger schools for its grade band in the area, Quinn serves a student body that is predominantly white. There is a modest Hispanic presence and a mix of students who identify with two or more races; Asian and Black student populations are very small. The school is not a Title I school. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the data we reviewed, and the same was true for counts of students with disabilities and English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support populations.
On state testing, Quinn’s results in the most recent year sit in the top quartile among elementary schools within Bristol County when the overall proficiency across subjects is considered. In math, roughly half of students scored at the proficient level or above. In English language arts, the share was slightly smaller, and in science, it was again around half. The multi-year record shows that these numbers have moved within a fairly stable band over the last several years. In math, proficiency has ranged from the low to mid part of that range across different years, while ELA has held in a similar middle range. The most recent figures for both subjects are near the middle of the school’s own historical performance across the available years. One pattern that stands out is that the school’s proficiency rate in ELA in the 2018-19 school year was notably higher than the years since, but the more recent data has been consistent rather than trending in either direction. Science is tested only in fifth grade, so that single snapshot reflects a narrower pool of students each year. The school’s participation rate on all assessments was very high.
There is no high school grade band at Quinn, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school offers a straightforward elementary academic pathway that feeds into Dartmouth’s middle and high schools as students progress. The data we examined did not include any course-access or program offerings for elementary grades beyond the standard district curriculum, which is typical for a school at this level.
The housing market in the area around Quinn reflects the broader dynamics of coastal southeastern Massachusetts. Home values in the town’s ZIP code are higher than the national median but a bit below the state median. In recent months, the number of homes for sale in Bristol County has risen modestly compared to the previous year, and the median list price has slipped a little. The number of pending sales has surged, suggesting that demand remains strong relative to supply. For a family considering a move into the district, the trade-off is one familiar across the region: a competitive market with limited inventory, especially for homes that fall within a moderate price range.
Dartmouth itself is not a town with a single walkable downtown. The civic and commercial life is dispersed. The northern Route 6 corridor functions as the region’s retail spine, while the southern coastal villages offer a quieter, more seasonal atmosphere. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is a significant institutional presence, both as an employer and as a physical addition to the town’s landscape. The Dartmouth Natural Resource Trust protects thousands of acres of land, including miles of trails, giving the town a strong conservation identity.
The district brief we searched for recent parent-relevant changes, such as boundary adjustments, program additions, or policy shifts, turned up little of lasting impact. A family considering Quinn should note that the school’s recent testing profile sits well within the middle-to-upper range of the county, with a stable, if unexceptional, set of year-over-year results. The missing pieces in the demographic and support-service data are gaps worth filling with a direct call to the school office, especially for a family with a child who receives specialized services or is an English learner. The school’s size is significant for an elementary school, which may feel either bustling or crowded depending on a family’s preference. Its setting in a town without a single center means that the school commute may be a car trip from any direction, but the surrounding community offers a mix of coastal recreation, rural land, and regional retail that suits many different family habits.
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